This invention relates to a novel universal fruit base for a fruit beverage and a process of producing the novel fruit base and beverage. More specifically, the invention relates to a novel formulation and process for producing a universal fruit base to be used for preparing non-settling, creamy, smooth, thick fruit beverages.
Studies have indicated that diets high in fruits and vegetables can be correlated with lower risks of cancer and heart disease in humans. Nutritionists are recommending an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in order to impede or prevent the incidence of chronic diseases and to supply adequate amounts of vital nutrients, fibre and antioxidants for maintaining healthy bodies.
The beneficial effects of ingested fruits may be attributed to the presence of ascorbic acid, carotenoids, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants such as phenolic compounds and anthocyanins. During the conversion of fruit into fruit juice, some of these valuable compounds may be retained in the pulpy waste residue. Thus beverages with pureed whole fruits would be advisable to ensure nutrient retention and superior fruit flavour.
Several problems have been encountered in the production of beverages with pureed whole fruits as ingredients. In the first place, fruit particles of the purees tend to settle during the storage of the beverages. Homogenization of such fruit beverages has been considered as a process operation for reducing the rate of settling. Secondly, the fruit puree particles with irregular shapes are responsible for a pulpy, fibrous texture of the fruit beverages with an accompanying reduction in smoothness.
A number of U.S. patents have been issued for fruit related beverages:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,737 to Ashourian, issued on Mar. 9, 1999, discloses a process for producing a shelf-stable, pourable fruit product from fresh and processed fruits, fruit purees and fruit juices. The product is produced by the fragmentation of intact fruit cells by homogenization of fruit puree-fruit juice mixtures. More than 61% of the intact fruit cells are to be fragmented during homogenization to form small cell fragments. The resulting products are to be pourable, spreadable, shelf-stable, and free of sedimentation for six months. The use of the fruit product as an ingredient for a beverage was not mentioned. This process does not produce predominantly intact single cells and does not disclose stabilizing the intact cells with modified starch and xanthan gum.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,515 to Payton et al., issued Sep. 28, 1993, discloses a process for preparing a vegetable fine-grind puree to which a fruit juice is added with the resulting beverage having a vegetable solids content of from about 1% to about 4% by weight of the product. The process comprises of comminution of cooked vegetables so that the particles of the puree can pass through a 80-mesh screen. The puree-fruit juice mixture is to be homogenized.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,719 to Gresch, issued on Mar. 17, 1992, discloses a process for extraction of juice from fruits and vegetables. The raw material is crushed in a mill, fed into a pulper and then onto a membrane filtration unit. The cell-containing retentate is exposed to enzymic treatment or physical treatment to breakdown the cells as a liquefaction step.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,985 to Wolff, issued on May 16, 1978, discloses a process in which fresh papaya meat with any of a variety of combinations of water, sugar, honey, citric acid, lemon juice, and ascorbic acid are placed in a high speed blender for homogenization at about 91xc2x0 C. The foam created during the homogenization of the papaya meat must be removed prior to the packaging of the juice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,603 to Lerchenfeld et al., issued on Sep. 15, 1998, discloses a method and stabilizer system for preventing the separation of solids in juice-containing products. Propylene glycol alginate and sodium carboxymethylcellulose are blended with hot water to form a slurry which is to be added to a fruit concentrate. Prior to reconstitution with water, the slurry-concentrate is to be homogenized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,807 to Jackinan, issued on Aug. 7, 1979, discloses a method of improving the appearance, taste and stability of citrus fruit juice and drinks by incorporating xanthan gum and carboxymethylcellulose. In particular, the combined gums unproved the suspension of the pulp in the citrus juice and drinks during storage up to 7 days. The addition of xanthan gum alone to the beverages was found to bring about cloud destabilization and pulp flocculation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,530 to Hoersten et al., issued on Jan. 29, 1991, discloses a method for introducing a soluble dietary fibre supplement into fruit juices. The soluble fibre components are gum arabic and pectin having a degree of esterification of at least 50% with sufficient levels to provide a fibre level of at least 2 grams per 8 fluid ounce product. For solubilization of the dietary fibre components, 10 to 20% of the beverage liquid is heated to 80 to 85xc2x0 C. whereupon the components are added and blended under high shear. A study with either guar gum, xanthan gum or catboxymethylcellulose as a dietary fibre component in apple juice indicated that all of the gums introduced an undesirable mouthfeel. The xanthan-containing juice possessed an undesirable thick, short, stringy consistency.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,805 to Becker, issued on Aug. 24, 1976, discloses a method for the preparation of high-consistency tomato products by applying acidification and homogenization to juices or concentrates. To the heat-treated extracted tomato juice at 150 to 212xc2x0 F. is added with mixing an acid to bring he pH below 3.0. After cooling, juice is restored to natural pH with an alkaline material and homogenized to damage extensively the fruit cells in the juice in order to increase the consistency of the juice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,367 to Langer et al., issued on Apr. 12, 1988, is directed to a fruit-flavoured beverage which is predominantly a mixture of citrus fruit juice (at least half as orange juice) and tropical fruit juice (at least half as pineapple juice) and having high concentrations of vitamins to satisfy the recommended daily allowance of vitamins in a single serving of a drink. The mixture of citrus fruit juices and tropical fruit juices in proportions described in the invention mask the unpalatable taste of added vitamins. Individually, apricot, peach and banana purees as well as grape, apple and pear juices do not mask the undesirable taste of the vitamins.
This invention pertains to a sequential series of process operations involving high temperature treatment of fresh apple pieces and mechanical impaction and screening of the thermally-treated apple pieces to disjoin small, cellular particulates and to release water-dispersible pectin. When the cellular particulates are stabilized by specified polysaccharides, a matrix, described herein as a universal fruit base, is formed. The universal fruit base possesses desirable functional properties, such as smoothness and creaminess, which carry through to resulting beverages called smoothies, made from the universal fruit base and other compositions.
The invention pertains to a formulation and process for producing a universal fruit base., which is an apple mash-polysaccharide mixture to which fruit puree(s) and optionally concentrated fruit juice(s) can be added to form beverage concentrates. The beverage concentrates can be diluted with water and/or fruit juice(s) to create supreme, distinctive, refreshing, healthy, creamy, smooth, thick, non-gummy and non-separating fruit beverages (smoothies). The resulting beverages possess hydrated cellular particulates, which are stabilized by modified starch and xanthan gum. Sedimentation of particulates in the beverages does not occur during the storage of the resulting beverages. Homogenization is not required for particulate stabilization. Pasteurization and sterilization of the resulting beverages can be carried out without the loss of textural and flavour quality attributes and without particulate destabilization and sedimentation. A wide variety of ingredients such as protein foods, coffee, tea, cocoa, nutrients, natural and artificial flavours, sweeteners and botanicals may be added to the beverages for flavour, nutritional and health appeal.
The invention is directed to a process of producing a universal fruit base from apples which comprises: (a) washing and sanitizing the fruit; (b) cutting the apples into pieces; (c) steaming and cooking the apple pieces; (d) macerating and screening the steamed, cooked apple pieces to produce an apple mince; (e) comminuting the apple mince to form a mash having predominantly intact single cells; (f) adding a modified starch and a natural xanthan gum to the fruit mash.
The fruit is to be apple. The apple can be washed and sanitized with chlorinated water or other types of disinfected waters. The apple can be cooked with steam to a temperature of at least 100xc2x0 C. Steam of a temperature between 100xc2x0 C. and 110xc2x0 C. can be used to cook the apple until protopectin in the apple is predominantly solubilized and the tissue becomes suitably soft.
The high temperature treatment of the apple pieces can break down the water-insoluble protopectin in the middle lamellae of the apple tissue to water-dispersible pectins, can inactivate polyphenol oxidase in the apple for the prevention of enzymic browning, can inactivate other oxidases in the apple to inhibit the oxidation of ascorbic acid, can gelatinize the protoplasts in the apple to bring about elastic, semi-solid masses in the intact apple cells, can plasticize the apple cell walls to enhance extensibility and resistance to impact fractures, and can expose the adhesive surfaces of intact apple cells.
The maceration and screening of steamed, cooked apple pieces can be performed by a finisher/pulper to form an apple mince.
The apple mince can be passed through a comminutor to produce an apple mash with a predominance of intact single cells along with some small cellular aggregates.
Pregelatinized cross-linked high amylopectin maize starch (modified starch) can be added apple mash to increase the viscosity as well as increase the smoothness and creaminess. Xanthan gum can be added to interact with the cellular particulates and to increase the viscosity of the continuous phase to restrict particulate sedimentation during the storage of smoothies.
Screen openings (round) in the finisher/pulper can be between about 0.05 and 0.13 inches. Screen openings (round) in the comminutor can be between about 0.033 and 0.093 inches.
The total amount of wet particulate mass for the apple mash can be between 35 and 75% by weight, preferably between 45 to 75% by weight. The amount of pregelatinized cross-linked high amylopectin maize starch (modified starch) added to the apple mash can be between 1.0 and 3.0% by weight, preferably between 1.2 and 2.0% by weight. The amount of xanthan gum added to the apple mash can be between 0.14 and 0.40% by weight, preferably between 0.20 and 0.30% by weight.
Fruit puree(s), and optionally, concentrated fruit juice(s) can be added to the universal fruit base to form a beverage concentrate.
The invention is also directed to a universal fruit base produced according to the process.
The total amount of wet particulate mass for apple mash can be between 35 and 75% by weight, preferably between 45 and 75% by weight.
The amount of pregelatinized cross-linked high amylopectin maize starch added to the apple mash can be between 1.0 and 3.0% by weight. The amount of xanthan gum added to the apple mash can be between 0.14 and 0.40% by weight.